A conduit that conveys a gaseous fluid may also provide a path for the propagation of objectionable noise. Examples of situations where this occurs include: the air intake and exhaust gas outlet of an internal combustion engine; ventilation and air conditioning ducts; and compressor intakes. Objectionable noise can be attenuated by placing a Helmholtz resonator in association with the conduit. The resonator is designed in accordance with a known formula to attenuate noise at and adjacent a particular frequency.
Known implementations of a Helmholtz resonator comprise the resonator being disposed exterior to the conduit and the resonator's interior chamber space being communicated by an aperture of appropriate dimensions to the conduit.
Insofar as the inventor is aware, the state of the art has failed to recognize the possibility of successfully implementing a Helmholtz resonator internally of the conduit. The broadest aspect of the invention relates to such a possibility.
A Helmholtz resonator that is disposed with the conduit offers important space savings over an external Helmholtz resonator implementation. Where available space imposes a constraint on the successful incorporation of a Helmholtz resonator in a gaseous-fluid-conveying conduit, the invention provides a solution for noise attenuation that can accommodate the constraint. For instance, the implementation of a Helmholtz resonator in the induction air system of an automobile engine may be hampered by the availability of only a limited space in the automobile's engine compartment. With the invention, it becomes possible in many instances for such an implementation to be made.
Moreover, the invention comprises ancillary aspects which facilitate the fabrication of the structure involved and the assembly, installation, and performance thereof. These aspects include the shape of the resonator itself and the means by which the resonator is supported within the conduit.
Further features, advantages, and benefits of the invention will be appreciated from the ensuing description which is accompanied by drawings. The drawings disclose a presently preferred embodiment of the invention in accordance with the best mode contemplated at the present time in carrying out the invention.